Defense Primer: U.S. Space Force
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Updated December 23, 2024
Defense Primer: The United States Space Force
The U.S. Space Force is the sixth branch of the Armed Forces, established under the Department of the Air Force (DAF) with the enactment of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act ([NDAA], for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020 NDAA; P.L. 116-92). According to Title 1010, Section 9081, of the U.S. Code, “ Code, "The Space Force shall be organized, trained, and equipped to—(1) provide freedom of operation for the United States in, from, and to space; (2) conduct space operations; and (3) protect the interests of the United States in space.”
Why the Space Force Was Created
The U.S. military operates 246 satellites, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. This satellite fleet includes constellations such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), which is widely used by the public and the private sector. For decades, U.S. spacecraft operated without threat of attack by other nations.
The United States and Soviet Union tested anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles in the 1980s. Largely because resulting debris could harm spacecraft in orbit, the United States last conducted such a test in 1985. China became the third nation to test an ASAT weapon in 2007. The event was a turning point, military commanders have said, as it revealed the vulnerability created by U.S. reliance on satellites. After 2007, China and Russia continued to build their military space capabilities. One decade later, advocates for a Space Force in Congress and the Administration proposed creating a service that could respond to increasing space, cyberspace, and missile threats. They also sought to streamline the process for making decisions about space acquisition. The FY2020 NDAA established the service on December 20, 2019.
Space Force Organization
The Chief of Space Operations (CSO) is the highest- ranking uniformed space advisor reporting to the Secretary of the Air Force. The Space Force and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) are two separate and distinct military uniformed services with the same civilian leader in the DAF. The structure is similar to how the Chief of Naval Operations and the Marine Corps report to the Secretary of the Navy. The CSO is General Chance Saltzman.
The Office of the CSO and the Space Force Headquarters are located at the Pentagon. The Space Force has a command structure with three levels. At the top of the hierarchy, three-star generals lead mission-focused field commands. The Space Force’s three field commands are Space Operations Command (SpOC), Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), and Space Systems Command (SSC). SpOC, based at Peterson Space Force
Base (SFB) in Colorado Springs, CO, provides space forces to combatant commands. STARCOM prepares space forces for operations. The DAF has selected Patrick SFB in Florida as STARCOM’s headquarters. SSC, based at Los Angeles Air Force Base, handles acquisition. On February 12, 2024, Saltzman announced the Space Force’s intent to stand up a fourth field command, Space Futures Command, to forecast threats, test concepts based on those forecasts, and design missions.
Figure 1. U.S. Space Force Within the Department of the Air Force
Since the creation of the Space Force, space has become an increasingly important domain for the United States—as well as for adversaries with growing space capabilities. In 2025, President Donald Trump issued executive orders to create a space-intensive initiative known as Golden Dome and to ensure "American Space Superiority." Space Force officials are reportedly considering doubling the size of the force. Congress will play a role in deciding whether or not to fund these initiatives, and in overseeing their progress.
Why the Space Force Was Created
Since the 1980s, U.S. policymakers have become increasingly concerned about potential adversaries operating in the space domain. The United States and Soviet Union tested anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles in the 1980s. The United States last conducted such a test in 1985, citing the harm resulting debris could cause to spacecraft in orbit. The People's Republic of China (PRC, or China) in 2007 became the third country to test an ASAT weapon. Military commanders reportedly have said the PRC test was a turning point, as it exposed a potential vulnerability of U.S. reliance on satellites. After 2007, China and Russia continued to develop military space capabilities. A decade later, some Members of Congress and the first Trump Administration proposed a distinct military service devoted to countering space, cyber space, and missile threats. The FY2020 NDAA authorized the establishment of the service on December 20, 2019.
Space Force Mission and Functions
The Space Force's mission is to "secure our Nation's interests in, from, and to space." The mission statement refers to each of the service's "core functions":
In space. Protecting the joint force and nation from space and counterspace threats to achieve "space superiority" (the condition under which forces can operate without prohibitive interference while denying adversaries space control).
From space. Delivering global mission operations like satellite communications; positioning, navigation, and timing; and missile warning.
To space. Providing assured space access through the service's launch, range, and control network infrastructure.
In addition to these core functions, Space Force carries out four cross-cutting enterprise functions: intelligence, cyberspace operations, command and control, and space domain awareness (detecting, characterizing, attributing, predicting, and targeting objects and activities in space).
Space Force Organization
The U.S. Space Force and the U.S. Air Force are two separate and distinct military uniformed services with the same civilian leader in the DAF (see Figure 1). The Chief of Space Operations (CSO) is the highest-ranking uniformed space advisor and reports to the civilian Secretary of the Air Force. The current CSO, General Chance B. Saltzman, was appointed in November 2022. The Office of the CSO and the Space Force Headquarters are located at the Pentagon. The Space Force organizes, trains, and equips space force personnel, called Guardians, to support unified combatant commands such as U.S. Space Command.Figure 1. U.S. Space Force Within the Department of the Air Force
Source: Adapted from U.S. Space Force Headquarters Air Force - April 19, 2022 (spaceforce.mil).
The CSO oversees a three-level command structure. Two- or three-star generals lead three mission-focused field commands. Colonels lead units called deltas that are subordinate to field commands. Lieutenant colonels or majors lead smaller Space Force squadrons. The Space Force's three field commands are Combat Forces Command (CFC), previously Space Operations Command (SpOC); Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM); and Space Systems Command (SSC). CFC develops tactics, techniques, procedures, and force-generation models, among other roles. CFC is based at Peterson Space Force Base (SFB) in Colorado. STARCOM prepares and trains Guardians at Patrick SFB in Florida. SSC, based at Los Angeles Air Force Base in California, handles acquisition. Congress appropriated the requested total of $26.1 billion for FY2026 in discretionary funding for the Space Force in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-75, Division A). Congress provided funding for types of accounts that were in some cases more than (procurement and personnel) and in other cases less than (research, development, test, and evaluation [RDT&E]) the service's request. For the Space Force, the act provided $14.9 billion for RDT&E, $5.7 billion for operations and maintenance (O&M), $4.0 billion for procurement, and $1.5 billion for military personnel (MILPERS). The FY2026 MILPERS request planned for an end-strength of 10,400 military personnel, 600 (6%) more than in FY2025. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY2026 NDAA; P.L. 119-60, §401) authorized the service's requested increase in end strength. According to a CRS review of FY2027 budget documents published by the Department of Defense (using a "secondary Department of War designation" under Executive Order 14347, dated September 5, 2025), in FY2026, the Space Force plans to spend $5.9 billion in mandatory defense funding from the 2025 reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21). (Such funding carried a five-year period of availability.) For FY2027, the Space Force requested a total of $71.3 billion, according to a CRS review of the department's budget documents. The request included $59.2 billion in discretionary funding from regular appropriations and $12.1 billion in mandatory funding anticipated to come from an FY2027 reconciliation bill. Taken together, the discretionary and mandatory request is 123% more than the FY2026 enacted total of $31.9 billion. Of the discretionary request for 2027, $38.4 billion (65%) is for RDT&E. The Space Force has also requested $9.6 billion in discretionary funding for procurement, $9.3 billion for O&M, and $1.9 billion for MILPERS. The Administration has not yet released an end strength request for FY2027. Congress provided FY2026 funding and DOD has requested FY2027 funding for the Space Force to develop and procure launch vehicles, spacecraft (satellites and orbital vehicles), and terrestrial systems and equipment. Major acquisition programs included the following: Underneath field commands, colonels lead units called deltas. Lieutenant colonels lead still-, https://www.ussf-cfc.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/About-Combat-Forces-Command.
Space Force Budget
Major Space Acquisition Programs
smaller Space Force squadrons. The Space Force assigns space professionals, known as Guardians, to U.S. Space Command and the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) 10 other unified combatant commands, each of which has a geographic or functional mission. Career tracks for Space Force Guardians include engineering, intelligence, leadership, logistics, and technology.
The Space Force manages space launch operations on the East Coast at Patrick SFB in Florida and on the West Coast at Vandenberg SFB in California. The service develops, defends, and operates cybersecurity networks, as well as satellites that provide secure communications, weather and navigational information, and missile warning. The service uses space surveillance sensors to track satellites and space debris for its own use and distributes much of that information publicly. The Space Force mission is to defend U.S. satellites from hostile attacks and conduct offensive counterspace operations to degrade an adversary’s ability to conduct space-based attacks.
Great Power Competition
During the Air Force Association’s Air and Space Warfare Symposium in February 2024, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall directed the Air Force and Space Force to “Reoptimize for Great Power Competition” with a
Defense Primer: The United States Space Force
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particular focus on China, which has vastly increased its space capabilities in the past 20 years.
To better enable Guardians to meet the demands of conflict with China or Russia, Saltzman said the Space Force would redesign career paths and include training for leaders to be knowledgeable in operations as well as technology. The service has also proposed the creation of a Space Futures Command within the year.
FY2025 Budget Request
The budget request for the Space Force is included within DAF budget materials. The Space Force request was $29.4 billion for FY2025, down from its FY2024 request of $30 billion. The FY2025 request included $18.7 billion for research, development, testing, and evaluation; $5.2 billion for operations and maintenance; $4.3 billion for procurement; and $1.2 billion for military personnel (MILPERS). The FY2025 MILPERS request supports an end strength of 9,800 military personnel and 5,324 civilians. The FY2025 budget request included major space investments, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. FY2025 U.S. Space Force Request, by Selected Programs
Type $ in billions
Space Procurement (Space Force) 4.3
Resilient Missile Warning Missile Tracking 2.6
Space Technology Development and Prototyping
1.7
Next-Gen Overhead Persistent Infrared 2.1
Evolved Strategic SATCOM 1.0
Protected Tactical SATCOM 0.6
Space Domain Awareness Systems 0.5
Source: Department of the Air Force Budget Overview FY2025.
Major Space Acquisition Programs
The FY2025 budget request included funding for the development and procurement of spacecraft, launch vehicles, space command and control systems, and terrestrial satellite terminals and equipment. Major acquisition programs include the following:
• The National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program
procures commercial launch services for the Space Force, Air Force, Navy, National Reconnaissance Office, Space Development Agency, and other government agencies. This program ensuresis intended to ensure U.S. access to space.
•
The GPSGPS Enterprise provides 24-hour-a-day,
worldwide coverage, includingworldwide, all-weather three- dimensional positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) information for military and civilian users.
•
Missile Warning Systems supply warning of strategic
missile attacks using the existing Space-Based Infrared System. The Space Force is developing the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared and Resilient (OPIR) Missile Warning and Missile Tracking program.
• Section 8149 of P.L. 119-75 prohibited any pause, cancellation, or termination of OPIR programs.
Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Projects
deliver three types of SATCOM. StrategicStrategic SATCOM refers to Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3); protected SATCOM is designed to enable enables communications to deployed forces in contested environments; and wideband/narrowband SATCOM offersis designed to offer large amounts of data transfer in less-contested environments.
•
Under the Proliferated Space Warfighter
Architecture, the Space Force is soliciting, purchasing, and launching low-Earth-orbit satellites to create a constellation that will conduct multiple missions. The missions willwould overlap with the systems conducting PNT, missile warning, and communications. These satellites willare intended to fly at lower altitudes and in greater numbers, providing additional capabilities and more resilience.
Potential Issues for Congress
Space National Guard Some analysts and organizations, including the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), have argued that DOD should establish a Space National Guard. They say a Space National Guard would help align Air National Guard units conducting space missions at a reasonable cost. The Biden Administration and others have opposed its creation, citing the cost to establish a new headquarters. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that facilities and equipment for a Space National Guard would range from $400 million to $900 million. The FY2024 NDAA requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study to assess the feasibility and advisability of transferring the space components of the Air National Guard to the Space Force.
Space Acquisitions The FY2023 NDAA directed the Defense Business Board (DBB) and the Defense Innovation Board (DIB) to study means for DOD to more rapidly acquire space assets. The resulting report recommends further empowering the Space Acquisition Executive (SAE), who oversees the military’s space architecture, leads the DAF’s purchase of space systems, and reports to the Secretary of the Air Force. The report recommends allowing the SAE to approve contracting vehicles (called Other Transaction Agreements) that exceed $500 million without seeking additional approval. The DBB and DIB report also calls for the SAE to determine the membership and frequency of meetings of the Space Acquisition Council, which manages DOD space procurements. The report advises allowing the SAE to hold funds in reserve for adding technology to existing programs, risk reduction, program acceleration, or corrective actions. Congress may consider these recommendations in its deliberations for FY2025.
Hannah D. Dennis, Analyst in U.S. Defense Policy
IF12610
Defense Primer: The United States Space Force
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12610 · VERSION 4 · UPDATED
Disclaimer
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Potential Considerations for Congress